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Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow is a cursed child. As such, she knows that she's to be held responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong around her. She also knows that she has just one year left to live. Well, actually, even less than that. Apparently her time is up now! But before she can be claimed by the curse that's plagued her her entire life, Morrigan is offered a chance at salvation. She's been chosen by four different people who want to sponsor her future learning. One of those is the most powerful man in all the realm. Unfortunately, when his representative disappears without a trace, Morrigan fears someone has been playing a prank on her. And yet, another would-be sponsor does appear just moments before Morrigan is supposed to die. He's from the Wundrous Society, something Morrigan has never heard of, and promises to whisk her away from everything. Thus begins an adventure Morrigan Crow could never have anticipated!

There was a lot of buzz around this title that I apparently missed. The one thing I did happen to catch was that Gemma Whelan (aka Zara Greyjoy) had been chosen to narrate the audio book!

Fortunately, this first in Jessica Townsend's debut series wouldn't have eluded my attention long. She happened to come to town to do a whirlwind of events promoting the book, staying at the Air B&B above BookBar! Half the staff read the book and were recommending it like mad before I dove into the audio. And it was brilliant fun, let me tell you!

Morrigan Crow lives a sad sort of life. But she's snarky about it. She's literally blamed for everything - hailstorms, failed jams and jellies, even deaths. And her family is supposed to compensate everyone who claims Morrigan was the cause of their troubles. Sometimes, that compensation is as small as an apology letter penned by Morrigan herself. And Morrigan knows only too well that she's truly being picked on as a scapegoat for most of these things. Her attempts at writing sincere and appropriate correspondence in the very beginning of the book were just a hint at the fabulousness that awaited me throughout Morrigan's tale.

Of course, Morrigan's own family aren't too keen on her. She's a nuisance at best and, of course, a curse at worst. And yet, she's allowed to attend a ceremony that offers local children apprenticeships and sponsorships at trade and education. Not only does she expect not to be picked - she's, as mentioned, supposed to die in a year and who would waste resources on a child who won't make it to adulthood!? - but she certainly never expected to receive an unheard of four bids!

Unfortunately, even though Morrigan does meet with one of the bidders, the bids are deemed to have been a cruel prank, and one more thing her father can be annoyed about on behalf of his only daughter.

But the bids aren't a prank. Or at least one of them isn't. A contract, followed shortly thereafter by a fellow named Jupiter North, arrives in the nick of time and Morrigan is literally whisked away from her home and her fate. She's taken through a clock to another realm where she is to be tested and tried before she can potentially be accepted into the Wundrous Society. Who and what the Wundrous Society is isn't of much worry to Morrigan considering the alternative, but the more she learns about her new potential home, the more desperate she is to be part of it.

The Trials of Morrigan Crow is a delightful read, absolutely perfect for any reader middle grade up in the mood for whimsy and adventure. And, if audio is up your alley, I can't recommend it highly enough. Whelan does an phenomenal job with the narration akin to Jim Dale's work on the Harry Potter audio books!

This is, again, the first in a new series. A trilogy, in fact. Book one released at the end of October and it looks as though we'll have to wait until October of this year for book 2. Apparently it's also in the works for film adaptation as well!